Molino’s ‘Vampire Ladies’ Lead Northview Student To First Blood Donation
October 27, 2010
One Northview High School sophomore used his day of school on Monday to become a blood donor for the very first time — thanks, in part, to the “Vampire Ladies” of his childhood.
Zac Cole, 16, said had looked forward to the day since elementary school. While Cole was a student at Molino Elementary School, then-Principal Dale Cooey and group of parents known as the “Vampire Ladies” created a program to teach students the importance of giving blood.
After the September 11 tragedy, Molino Park held blood drives, encouraged students to recruit adult donors all while teaching the students about blood donations.
“These first students that were taught about blood donation are now old enough to donate themselves. They no longer have to be recruiters. They can now be someone else’s hero,” said Zac’s mom Peggy.
Zac, his mom and cousin Heath Cole visited Northwest Florida Blood Services in Pensacola Monday morning so Zac could make his first blood donation.
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Zac said about giving blood on his day out of school.
Zac will be eligible to donate blood again on December 20; just in time to “give the gift of life” for Christmas, he said.
For more information on Northwest Florida Blood Services, click here. The Bloodmobile will be in North Escambia on Saturday, November 6 beginning at 11 a.m. for the annual Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department Catfish Fry.
Pictured top: Heath Cole (left) and Zac Cole pose with a new Kia Soul being given away by Northwest Florida Blood Services to one lucky donor. Pictured inset: Zac Cole makes his first blood donation.
Photos: Move That Bus! Extreme Home Makeover Reveal
October 25, 2010
With superstar Mariah Carey, the Tate Showband of the South, a Christmas parade and thousands screaming “Move That Bus!”, Finis Gaston saw his new “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” home for the first time Sunday afternoon.
Crowds waited for hours as bands and cheerleaders and TV production crews practiced in front of the new 3,600 square foot house, which was completely decked out with Christmas decorations. The Extreme Makeover episode filmed Sunday in Pensacola will air as a Christmas special on December 12.
For more photos from the “Big Reveal”, click here.
Then the excitement erupted as a white van drove up to the home on Rainbow Avenue, and out stepped Mariah Carey — a pop legend with more number one songs to her name than Michael Jackson.
But the crowning moment was the one we’ve all seen played out on TV so many times — a limousine drove up behind the Extreme Makeover bus. On cue, the crowd yelled those famous words — “Move That Bus!”. And then Finis Gaston, along with the nieces and nephews in his care, stepped into their new home.
The design of what they saw — four bedrooms, three baths and a nursery — will remain a secret until the show airs in December.
For more photos from the “Big Reveal”, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Weekend In Photos
October 25, 2010
There was a lot going on in the North Escambia area this weekend, and NorthEscambia.com was there with hundreds of photos. Click any item below for more photos.
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Photos: Flomaton’s Great Homecoming
October 24, 2010
Flomaton took part in the statewide Alabama Year of Small Towns and Downtowns Saturday with their first ever Flomaton Great Homecoming.
Arts and crafts vendors, foods and entertainment set the stage for the event. During the Flomaton Great Homecoming, the town opened the doors on their brand new library which will be complete and officially opened in a few weeks.
For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
Pictured above: The Flomaton Great Homecoming was held Saturday. Pictured below: Residents got a sneak peek of the town’s brand new library. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Williams Station Day
October 24, 2010
Thousands attended the annual Williams Station in Atmore on Saturday.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above: Crowds at Saturday’s Williams Station Day in Atmore. Pictured below: The reunion of the “Kool Tools” band, a popular local band formed in the 1960’s. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Featured Recipe: Prime Rib – Without The Fear
October 24, 2010
This weekend’s featured recipe from Janet Tharpe is a Simple No Fear Prime Rib. This dish will leave you feeling “gourmet” with tender meat a punch of flavor.
To print today’s “Just a Pinch” recipe column, you can click the image below to load a printable pdf with a recipe card.
Robots Teach Kids; Tate Takes ‘Blood, Sweat And Duct Tape Award’
October 24, 2010
Cheering fans, blaring instruments, and pounding drums — you may think of a football or soccer game. But this is no sports event. It’s a game of the future.
On Saturday morning the University of West Florida Field House buzzed with activity and the Emerald Coast BEST Robotics competition whirred to a start.
The futuristic competition plays out in an arena setting complete with referees, cheerleaders, mascots and cheering students. A deafening din fills the air as 21 area high schools and middle schools compete with their robots, all a part of an initiative to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology. Gulf Power Company is the major sponsor of BEST — Boosting, Engineering, Science and Technology.
This year’s theme, “Total Recall,” is a word play on quality control. In the competition, students will control their robots to successfully process and package as much “good” product as possible while striving for Six Sigma quality levels on each production line. Some products may be identified as “defective” and will be “recalled.”
It’s all a part of an initiative to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology through participation in a sports-like, science and engineering-based robotics competition each fall. Student teams are judged on robot performance, marketing presentation, team exhibit/interview, project engineering notebook, and spirit and sportsmanship.
Josh King, eleventh grader from Escambia High School, said the competition helped him realize how important science and math are to the real world.
“To get ready for this you have to use the whole engineering design process,” said King. “It starts with brainstorming, then design, then prototype and then final product. We really had fun out there.”
King plans to pursue an Architectural Engineering degree at the University of West Florida.
King’s teacher and lead for the Robotics Club Bob Rainey said BEST helps get the students excited about science and math.
“They have to apply their skills in math and science and engineering,” said Rainey. “This is something really authentic the students can get involved with. BEST Robotics prepares them because everything in life is going to be a project for them, and they’re going to have to overcome problems.”
Max Levesque (pictured left), a sixth grader and part of the team from Workman Middle School that won first place in the robotics competition, said involvement in robotics had given him a greater interest in math.
“This is something different than what I usually do in school,” said Levesque, “I actually kind of like math more now.”
Introduced by two MIT students, BEST — Boosting Engineering Science and Technology — has grown into a nationally recognized competition challenging more than 50,000 participants since its start in 1993.
Area schools have been competing since 2004, when Gulf Power sponsored eight local teams in the regional competition in Mobile. Twenty schools across Northwest Florida participated in the regionals, and the top schools will advance to competition at Auburn University.
Students had six weeks to build their robots and teams were judged on robot performance, oral presentation, table display, project notebook, spirit and sportsmanship.
Four schools in Northwest Florida were among the winners that will advance to the finals at Auburn University on Nov. 18 – 20: Woodlawn Middle School, Bethlehem K-12, Workman Middle and Woodham Middle.
BEST Award
1. Woodham Middle School
2. Woodlawn Beach Middle School
3. Seaside Neighborhood Middle School
Gulf Power- Blood, Sweat and Duct Tape Award
Tate High School
Robotics Award
1. Workman Middle School
2. Bethlehem K-12
3. Milton High School
4. Woodham Middle
Best Team Website
Seaside Neighborhood Middle School
Best T-shirt Design
1. Hobbs Middle School
2. Sims Middle School
3. Woodham Middle School
Founders Award for Creative Design
Seaside Neighborhood Middle School
Most Robust Robot
Workman Middle School
Most Photogenic Robot
Merritt Brown Middle School
Most Elegant Machine
Milton High School
Best Team Exhibit and Interview
1. Holley Navarre Middle School
2. Woodlawn Beach Middle School
3. Merritt Brown Middle School
Best Marketing Presentation
1. Woodham Middle School
2. Holley-Navarre Middle School
3. Woodlawn Beach Middle School
Best Project Engineering Notebook
1. Bethlehem K-12
2. Woodlawn Beach Middle School
3. Seaside Neighborhood Middle School
Best Spirit and Sportsmanship
1. Woodham Middle School
2. Seaside Neighborhood Middle School
3. Sims Middle School
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Day Of Caring Works On North Escambia Projects
October 23, 2010
Friday, over 100 volunteer teams took part in the annual United Way Day of Caring in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, including projects at Northview High School, Jim Allen Elementary and the Cantonment Senior Center.
At Northview High School, volunteers from Exxon Mobil joined the school’s horticulture class in a campus cleanup and planted flowers.
At Jim Allen Elementary, volunteers from Publix sanded and repainted several pieces of playground equipment.
At the Cantonment Senior Center, volunteers from Gulf Power Company washed the outside of the building, painted the front porch and cleaned up the facility’s yard.
Volunteer projects across the two counties included yard work at homes of elderly or disabled residents, repair of playground equipment at children’s centers and schools, planting gardens and grounds beautification at schools and nonprofit outreach centers, and help building a Habitat for Humanity home.
Friday marked the 18th year of the United Way Day of Caring in Escambia County. There will be more than 90 projects completed in Escambia County and more than 30 projects in Santa Rosa County, with over 1,100 volunteers taking part.
Pictured top: Volunteers work to beautify the campus at Northview High School in Bratt. Pictured below: Day of Caring volunteers at Jim Allen Elementary School. Pictured inset: Volunteers at the Cantonment Senior Center. Submitted and NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Flomaton Hurricane Homecoming Parade
October 23, 2010
The Flomaton High School Homecoming Parade rolled through Flomaton Friday afternoon.
For a complete NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the parade, click here.
Pictured above: The Flomaton Hurricane band marches in Friday afternoon’s homecoming parade. Pictured below: The FHS class of 2000 shows their Hurricane spirit. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Flomaton Celebrates Fall, Hurricanes
October 22, 2010
Characters of all sorts roamed the streets of downtown Flomaton Thursday night during the town’s annual Fall Festival. The event also included a big homecoming pep rally for the Flomaton Hurricanes.
The Fall Festival began a weekend of activities as part of the 2010 Flomaton Great Homecoming. Events continue with a homecoming parade and homecoming football game on Friday and a full day of activities on Friday. Click here for more information.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.